Brisbane succumbed to a late try against North Queensland last week, allowing the Cowboys to snatch the game in the final few minutes. Leading by two points with four minutes remaining, Coen Hess got on the end of a Johnathan Thurston grubber for the Cowboys which saw the Broncos go down 34-30.

Jordan Kahu comes back into the centres after a one-match absence, replacing debutant Gehamat Shibasaki. Josh McGuire is also back at lock with Patrick Mago the man to make way.

Back-to-back defeats have left the Broncos sitting in a precarious position in eighth place on the ladder. They are now two points behind the seventh-placed Warriors but more importantly, just two points ahead of the ninth-placed Tigers.

South Sydney lost their big derby against the Roosters last week but were hindered by Alex Johnston’s hamstring injury with his first touch of the game. The fullback’s departure forced an early reshuffle and they didn’t look as fluent in attack from the point. Despite their best efforts, the Rabbitohs went down 14-18.

Johnston’s injury sees him ruled out this week with Souths having to field a very under-strength three-quarter line. Dane Gagai has slotted in at fullback so Hymel Hunt starts on the wing with Braidon Burns and Tyrell Fuimaono lining up in the centres. Mawene Hiroti is named to make his debut from the bench.

After just a week at the top of the NRL ladder, the Rabbitohs relinquished that position with the Roosters taking advantage of their win to leapfrog them. With just points differential separating the two teams, Souths will be hoping for a win here to remain in the hunt for the minor Premiership.

THE PREDICTION

Brisbane’s position in the top 8 is looking precarious at the moment with just two points now separating the Broncos and the ninth-placed Tigers. They now host second-placed South Sydney in what should be a difficult encounter to win but may be able to take advantage of the Bunnies’ injury crisis. The Rabbitohs are missing five of their backs including captain Greg Inglis who just fell short in his bid to return this week. With a depleted back-line on show, the Broncos will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat and really open the door for the Tigers to pile the pressure on. However, Souths showed enough in adversity last week and they can get back to winning ways despite their makeshift three-quarter line.

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